Diesel, price back above 2 euro per litre

The diesel is back above EUR 2 per litre. This is the direct consequence of the seventh intervention on fuel excise duties put in place by the government with an interministerial decree signed by Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin from 7 June until 3 July. The discount on diesel has in fact been halved, from 12.2 to 6.1 cents per litre, while that on petrol has remained unchanged.

The data collected by the Price Observatory of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy photograph the change of scenario: the average self-service price on the road network is 1.917 euro per litre for petrol and 2.004 euro for diesel. On motorways, the values rise to 2.014 and 2.090 euro per litre respectively.

The move confirms the direction already taken in the last two interventions: a gradual return to the ordinary tax regime, with diesel falling faster than petrol along the path of discount reduction. The new intervention will cost less than 150 million - about 5.3 million a day - and will be covered by the mobile excise mechanism: 149.4 million of extra VAT revenue generated by energy inflation in May, down by about 40 million compared to April. No impact on the deficit, for the third consecutive month.

Now the government will have to decide what to do after 3 July: continue with universal measures or move towards targeted interventions, as indicated by the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the OECD. Also on the table is the issue of road hauliers, who until the end of June benefit from a tax credit for the price increases accumulated since March. The prices at the pump in the coming weeks, as in recent weeks, will be the main parameter for deciding.